Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. ~ Joshua 1: 9

Be strong indeed. Once upon a time in a land far, far away named Persia, evil forces were at work in the world. In 1935 the Persian government requested those countries with which it had diplomatic relations, to begin referring to Persia as “Iran.” The suggestion for the change came from the Persian ambassador to Germany, who came under the influence of the Nazis. Following the end of WWII was a time when Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi ruled Iran as a constitutional monarchy until he was forced by the administration of Peanut Farmer Carter (who should never, ever, have been given the reins of power) to abdicate in 1979. Yes folks, peanut president Jimmy Carter was responsible for the mess that became today’s Iran. Thank God that We the People now have a leader who follows Godly dictates, is not ‘nation-building’, and puts America First in everything he undertakes.

The following narrative is culled in two print styles from * [The Jerusalem Post] and * [Newsmax]; the one being current action, the other being current with historic reference … Links to both of which are provided down below.

Be strong. Be brave. Be courageous.

********************

The unthinkable has happened. IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani has been killed. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the man behind Iran’s drive for regional hegemony, who commanded the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was targeted and eliminated. Unlike all the previous times when he got away, this time, he met his end. It appears a cryptic tweet from US Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced the US policy to begin preemptive strikes against Iranian adversaries or their proxies. “To Iran and its proxy militias: We will not accept the continued attacks against our personnel and forces in the region. Attacks against us will be met with responses in the time, manner and place of our choosing. We urge the Iranian regime to end malign activities,” he wrote. 

Whereas the Shah of Iran had been recognized as a staunch pro-West, anti-communist Cold War ally, he fell out of favor with the American, British, and French government leaders when he tied his country’s oil pricing policies to international markets for 20 commodities and more. This had followed the expiration of a 30-year contract with the Brits in 1978 which had previously given them preferable pricing concessions. Oil prices exploded as a result. Using oil-generated wealth, the Shah modernized his nation. His government established advanced postal services, libraries, colleges, and universities; built rural roads and highways, and electrical power installations; and constructed dams to irrigate arid land, making the country 90 percent self-sufficient in food production.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had called Middle East leaders in the last days to be strong, firm up support and discuss current strategy. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia were all contacted by him, as were Iraqi leaders and Qatar. He warned Soleimani’s key disciple Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as well as Qais al-Khazali, a Shi’ite militia leader the US had sanctioned; then he warned the leaders of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units, Hadi al-Amiri and Faleh al-Fayed. Muhandis was responsible for the December 27 attack on US forces at K-1 which resulted in the death of a US contractor. He has been responsible for attacks on Americans since the 1980s, as has Khazali, who was held at Camp Cropper in 2007. 

The Shah favored peace with Israel, and his modern air force and powerful army served as a main barrier to Soviet Russian ambitions, becoming a stabilizing force in the volatility of the Middle East. Nevertheless, fierce Carter administration pressure mounted for him to abdicate. In the meantime, Islamic fundamentalists who resented his progressive pro-western views, in concert with Soviet-sponsored communists, deployed a massive campaign against the Shah. In December of 1978, anti-Shah opposition forces symbolically led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a minor cleric favored by Western leaders, took to the streets of Tehran. The ayatollah had been exiled for remarks leading to violence and rioting over the Shah’s woman’s rights and land reforms during the 1960s.

Since May, 2019, Iran has been attacking not only the US but also Israel, Saudi Arabia and oil tankers in the region. It downed a US drone and sent proxies in Iraq to fire rockets at least 12 times at US bases. These rocket attacks targeted key facilities – including the Green Zone, Camp Taji, Assad and Balad bases, and Qayarrah. Iran fired rockets at Israel in January, September and November of 2019 and attacked Saudi’s Abqaiq facility in September with a drone swarm. It also sent Kataib Hezbollah to attack Saudi Arabia in May, and to establish bases and arms trafficking networks across Iraq. In Syria, Iran built a new base, called Imam Ali, at the border with Iraq. In short: Iran’s activities in 2019 were accelerated and represented an increasing threat to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, as well as a threat along 5,000 km. of front line from the Lebanese border with Israel to the Gulf of Oman and Yemen.

Upon returning from exile in Iraq on Oct. 4, 1978, the ayatollah was set up in a lavish French chateau surrounded by security protectors from the CIA, MI6, and even the KGB. Favorably biased Western interviews, including the Voice of America, major U.S. networks, and the BBC, turned out to be strong virtual voices of the 1978-1979 revolution. Khomeini’s inflammatory speeches and revolutionary songs were aired on Iranian radio. As Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi later reflected in writing, “You cannot imagine the pressure the Americans were putting on me, and in the end it became an order [to leave] . . . How could I stand alone against Henry Precht [the Carter administration State Department director for Iran] and the entire [Cyrus Vance] State Department?”

Finally, after the killing and wounding of Americans, the US acted by carrying out the December 29, 2019 strikes. Kataib Hezbollah responded two days later with the attack on the US embassy. Working with the Badr Organization commander Hadi al-Amiri, who plays a role in the PMU and parliament, they opened the gates to the Green Zone, and PMU members in fatigues assaulted the embassy. They wrote “Soleimani is my leader” on the guardhouses. It was a symbol, be strong. They were saying that Soleimani runs Iraq and Baghdad, not the US. Forty-eight hours later, Soleimani and Muhandis were targeted in an airstrike near the airport. It is a fitting end to men who believed there would be no response to provocations. It will be a blow to their organizations and network, just as the killing of Mughniyeh was a blow [back in 2008.]

Carter’s support for the ascendance of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini regime was unceremoniously rewarded by a humiliating U.S. Embassy assault which held 52 diplomats and civilians hostage for 444 days. The ayatollah proudly bragged about how “Iran had defeated the Great Satan,” and that “America can’t do a damn thing.” Masoumeh Ebtekar, the spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy takeover, is now the vice president of Rouhani’s cabinet. Those hostages were released immediately on the inauguration day of newly-elected U.S. President Ronald Wilson Reagan. During his presidential debate with Carter, ‘the be strong at all times Reagan’ had observed, “The Shah of Iran was our best ally.” President Reagan, as ever, was proven right.

On the other hand, the aged 95-year-old Carter, still crimping along, God bless him, is no doubt still haunted by the way he unceremoniously treated what was at the time, a staunch ally of the United States in enemy territory. The way the Shah and his family were treated by the Carter cartel, was a foreshadowing of just where the current DemoMarxocrats have taken themselves and their once-relevant party. And that would be to the pits of Hell.

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. ~ Joshua 1: 7

********************

NewsMax: Thank Jimmy Carter for Current Iran Mess

The Jerusalem Post: Soleimani’s Luck couldn’t Last; This Time he Met His End

Tragedy in the family, NY Daily News: Son of Shah of Iran commits suicide in Boston

********************

Face of Jesus by Richard Hook

Soli Deo Gloria!

********************